your favorite beer, ale, or stout. According to Joe Power of AnotherWineBlog.com, he likes Guinness, and says it is the simplest answer. He notes that Guinness has “the smooth, nutty flavors start sweet and finish bitter. Each of those notes will compliment the flavors in the dish. The taste is big enough to stand up to the spices.

Smithwicks is a good choice for those who find stouts to be too heavy. It is very complex and flavorful so, unlike some other lighter colored Irish beers such as Harp or Bass, it can really hold its own when pitted against a lot of spice. While not Irish, both McEwan’s Scotch Ale and Belhaven Wee Heavy are also good choices. Big, strong, and flavorful, these ales have notes that pair perfectly with the spices in the meat.”

But, let’s charge ahead and draw from the cellar a wine that won’t conflict. There are three wines that play well with Irish food, and in particular, this dish we have written up for our About the Town celebration of St. Paddy’s Day.

Take a look at the Sauvignon Blanc or Fume Blanc offerings from the late Robert Mondavi. Robert Mondavi, who is credited with a stunning marketing idea, began with a particularly fine batch of Sauvignon Blanc grapes and planned to create a wine in the style of the Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc wines. Mondavi had tasted a Pouilly-Fume wine from the Loire Valley and thought he could market a similar wine. Influenced by the flavor palate and the idea, he named his product Fume Blanc. [Trivia and news: His wife, Magrit Mondavi, has authored a recent book that some say is a tell-all memoir.)

The second wine that works for some, for this dish, is a good Riesling. The flavors stand tall against the corned beef and cabbage mélange.

The third, which you may have guessed, is the pugnacious Sémillon, from the varieties grown in Australia, mostly in the Hunter Valley area near Sydney, Australia, New South Wales. Often known as a Hunter River Riesling, it may not be a complex wine, but it dances around with bare-knuckle bravery to accept the spiced, salty corned beef in a mannerly Queensbury Rules pairing.

About the Town – Fabulous Baked Corned Beef

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds corned beef

¼ cup white wine (Riesling, Fume Blanc, or Semillon)

2 tablespoons pickling spice

1 orange, sliced (do not remove the peel)

1 onion, sliced

2 celery stalks with leaves, in ½ inch slices

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

To reduce the salt, first cover the corned beef at room temperature in a large pot of water for 30-45 minutes. This will draw out some of the salt.

Preheat the oven to 300o F.

Prepare a sheet of heavy-duty foil that covers a 9×13 baking pan. Remove the corned beef from the water and pat with paper or linen kitchen towels to dry it. Place the corned beef in the center of the foil and pour the white wine over it.

Evenly sprinkle the pickling spices over the meat, add the orange slices on top. Then arrange the onion, celery, and carrot slices on top of the meat and around the pan. Seal the foil up tightly with a long fold and tightly roll up the sides so that the liquid is sealed within the foil.